Foxx Issues ED a Subpoena Citing a Lack of Responsiveness to the "Botched" FAFSA Rollout
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
After multiple letters and an ongoing investigation, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, on Thursday issued a subpoena for information and documents from the Department of Education (ED) concerning the rollout of the 2024-25 FAFSA.
Initially, Foxx, along with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in January to formally examine how the 2024-25 FAFSA rollout is impacting students and schools.
In May, the pair of Republican lawmakers also sent a letter to ED urging the department to “immediately comply” with GAO, and argued that ED was “stonewalling” its investigation. Foxx and Cassidy wrote that according to letters from GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, GAO has met with ED “numerous times” and offered accommodations so the department could submit requested information. However, according to Dodaro, ED has not submitted many of the requested items.
Earlier this month, Foxx and Cassidy sent a letter to ED’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) seeking updates on the investigation, along with details on the status of the planned launch of the upcoming 2025-26 FAFSA form.
In Thursday’s subpoena, Foxx wrote that so far, since the May letter was sent to the department, her committee hasn’t received a response letter or any information or documents it requested, including with meetings from ED’s Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs (OLCA).
“Accordingly, given the lack of full responsiveness on these critical matters, the Committee has determined that compulsory measures are necessary,” Foxx wrote in the subpoena.
The subpoena lists the documents and communications ED must produce to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce by August 8. In a separate statement, Foxx accused ED of stonewalling GAO’s investigation and said that “enough is enough.”
"Millions of students are relying on accurate information in order to determine their next steps, but the Biden-Harris administration is too concerned with hiding their incompetence to provide applicants with the certainty they need," Foxx said in a statement. "From refusals to update staff to blocking a GAO investigation, it’s clear that the Department of Education isn’t going to give its co-equal branch the relevant information willingly, so today’s subpoena is the only logical next step."
Publication Date: 7/26/2024
Rita G | 7/31/2024 4:19:09 PM
Just once I would love to see someone held accountable for their failures, how can no one be fired over the 2425 FAFSA and all of the issues that we are still being alerted about! You would think they have time to submit the documents since it's not like they will be receiving batch corrections from schools during this time...
Laura K | 7/27/2024 9:45:37 AM
I need ED to devote 99.5% of their time and efforts toward fixing problems with the 24-25 FAFSA and processing errors and glitches and known issues, and of course processing all the paper FAFSAs. Then, I need ED to provide a functioning 2025-26 FAFSA on Oct. 1st and correctly functioning processing by November 1st. After all that, I'm fine with ED spending time providing records and documents and being summoned by elected Senators and Congresspersons.
David S | 7/26/2024 4:51:06 PM
Foxx appeared on Off The Cuff and said that fewer Americans should attend college. This subpoena is in no way motivated by a desire to help needy students. It is 100% election year politics.
Anthony S | 7/26/2024 10:36:37 AM
This makes me happy.
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